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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.2.3How to speed up the Brave browserhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/14/speed-up-brave-browser/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/14/speed-up-brave-browser/#respondSat, 14 Sep 2019 05:52:29 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154677The following guide lists tweaks and suggestions on how to speed up the Brave web browser to reduce lag and improve the browser's performance. We have published guide on speeding up the Opera […]

Ghacks needs you. You can find out how to support us here (https://www.ghacks.net/support/) or support the site directly by becoming a Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ghacks/). Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to speed up the Brave browser appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

]]>The following guide lists tweaks and suggestions on how to speed up the Brave web browser to reduce lag and improve the browser's performance. We have published guide on speeding up the Opera and Vivaldi browsers previously, and this guide is the third part of the series.

Brave, like most desktop web browsers, is based on Chromium. Other Chromium browsers are Google Chrome, Vivaldi, Opera, and the new Microsoft Edge browser that Microsoft started to work on in 2019.

As a Chromium-based browser, Brave is quite fast already; the browser's blocking of advertisement improves performance significantly as well when it comes to the loading of webpages.

Brave's default settings leave room for improvements. Like all browsers, it ships with a default set of features designed to provide a good mix of features and speed.

Brave's Settings

You can access the Brave Settings from the main menu or by loading chrome://settings/ directly. The settings are divided into a main and an advanced part, and it is a good idea to check them from top to bottom after initial installation.

Get Started -- I prefer to load the previous session (Continue where you left off) but you may speed up the start of the browser by selecting "open the new tab page" or "open a specific page or set of pages".

Appearance -- Enable "use wide address bar" to give the address bar a bit more room. Not a performance setting.

Shields -- Brave's Shields feature blocks trackers and advertisement by default. You can check the "block scripts" setting as well to block scripts from running by default but that will lead to breakage and you having to create overrides for sites that don't work properly if JavaScript is disabled. Note that the feature is not as advanced as the blocking of scripts by NoScript or uMatrix.

Social Media Blocking -- Unless you use any of those openly, disable all options here:

Startup parameters

Brave supports Chromium startup parameters. These are supplied on start and may modify certain features and settings of the browser that can't be changed in the browser's settings.

You may either run Brave from the command line and specify the parameters, or edit the shortcut that points to Brave to permanently use the parameters.

On Windows, you simply right-click on the Brave shortcut on the desktop or Start and select Properties. Note that you need to right-click on Brave a second time in the menu if you right-click on the Brave icon in the taskbar. Add the parameters to the end of the Target field and click ok to save the changes.

--process-per-site -- Brave puts every page you open in the browser in its own process. If you notice that your devices hit the available RAM limit regularly, you may want to load Brave with the --process-per-site parameter to use a single process per site instead. Useful if you open multiple pages of a single site as it will reduce RAM usage.

--enable-low-end-device-mode -- This enables low end device mode which improves memory consumption of the browser.

Now you: Have you tried Brave?

Ghacks needs you. You can find out how to support us here (https://www.ghacks.net/support/) or support the site directly by becoming a Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ghacks/). Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post How to speed up the Brave browser appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/14/speed-up-brave-browser/feed/0Add shortcuts to the toolbar and context menu in File Explorer using StExBarhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/13/add-shortcuts-to-the-toolbar-and-context-menu-in-file-explorer-using-stexbar/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/13/add-shortcuts-to-the-toolbar-and-context-menu-in-file-explorer-using-stexbar/#commentsFri, 13 Sep 2019 16:43:04 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154635Windows may have evolved over the years but the file explorer that ships with it has not evolved all that much. We have seen plenty of replacement File Managers like Altap Salamander, […]

Stexbar is available for all versions of Windows starting with Windows Vista. It is compatible with all Windows Explorer and File Explorer versions.

Stexbar for Windows Review

StExBar is a toolbar that enables useful shortcuts and options in Explorer. Once you have installed the application you can enable it by opening Explorer and selecting View > Options > StExBar. It is visible right below the Explorer's address bar by default and you may need a bit of time to get used to the new toolbar.

You can use the Show System Files and the Show Extensions options to hide/show hidden files and file extensions in Explorer with a single-click of the mouse. The options are available natively as well but you need to go into the settings to toggle them.

The Console and PowerShell buttons are shortcuts for "open a Command Prompt window here" and "open a Powershell window here", respectively.

The Copy Names option is a handy shortcut for copying the names of a bunch of files and folders that you select to the Clipboard. There is a similar button called Copy Paths which can quickly copy the location of every file and folder that you select. The two copy commands can be useful if you are comparing two sets of folders or files, want to keep a record of the content for organizing your hard drive, or for other purposes.

The Rename tool lets you rename multiple files and folders at once and it supports regular expressions which sets it apart from the built-in rename option.

StExBar supports a handy move to sub-folder button to move files into subfolders and even create these folders if you choose that option.

The filter search field at the right end of the toolbar filters the available files and folders based on the string that you type. You need to select Filter in the options to enable that functionality.

Keyboard shortcuts and Custom Commands

Click on the “Options” button at the far left on the toolbar to toggle the button text to reduce the size of toolbar elements; handy for the next feature. You can add your own commands and shortcuts to the toolbar using StExBar to add programs to it to run them with a click. Another option that you find here is to map and use shortcuts to run various commands, e.g. Ctrl + Shift + H (for Show system files) or Ctrl + M (open CMD).

The option to add custom commands adds links to programs to the toolbar. You could create a link to Microsoft Paint or your favorite image editor to run the program with a click. Adding custom commands is quite easy:

Select a name for the program. The name is displayed on the toolbar.

Pick an icon if you want. If you don't select an icon a default icon is used.

The Command line field points to the executable file.

Start In is optional.

Hotkey maps a custom shortcut to the command.

Conditions when to show the icon.

Note: There are various placeholders available for the Command line Option which you can use. You can view the options by hovering the cursor over the field or by accessing the help section.

There are several conditions which you can set as well. Click ok and you will see the new shortcut on the toolbar. Similarly, you can edit or remove other shortcuts and separators from the toolbar.

Can I add favorite folders to the toolbar?

Yes, it’s easy. Follow this format: explorer.exe "C:\folder_name". Replace C with the drive the folder is located in, and “folder_name” with the actual name of the directory. Give it a name and paste it in the “Command line prompt”. This will add the folder as an icon to the toolbar and clicking on it will open the folder in a new explorer window.

You may add any folder that you want to the toolbar, e.g. the downloads folder as shown on the screenshot below.

Context Menu

StExBar adds its own context menu and it lists all the shortcuts from the toolbar readily available with a right-click of the mouse.

Closing Words

StExBar is a useful program for Windows users that like the idea of having a toolbar attached to Explorer that provides them with options to launch programs and run some commands. I find the filter options very useful that Martin mentioned in 2009.

The application works in Windows Vista and above. You can also try Easy Context Menu, if you want an alternative.

As someone who often tinkers with factory images, custom ROMs and rooting on my phones, I frequently use ADB tools. And for this I rely on the command prompt. Since I'm constantly downloading/testing new applications and capturing screenshots, I need to open certain folders to access or save the content. The shortcuts feature of StExBar is very useful for that purpose.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/13/add-shortcuts-to-the-toolbar-and-context-menu-in-file-explorer-using-stexbar/feed/4Opera GX Browser update introduces network limiterhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/13/opera-gx-browser-update-introduces-network-limiter/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/13/opera-gx-browser-update-introduces-network-limiter/#commentsFri, 13 Sep 2019 07:25:31 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154657Opera Software unveiled its Opera GX web browser in June 2019 after it released a teaser a month earlier. The web browser was specifically designed for gamers and the three core features […]

The design of the Opera GX browser set it apart from most desktop browsers; its color scheme, use of sound, and layout resembled how modern computer games look like. The core of the browser is identical to the main Opera desktop browser; it is based on Chromium just like Opera or Chrome are.

Opera Software announced recently that the Opera GX web browser has been downloaded more than one million times already. The latest version of Opera GX, released on September 12, 2019, introduces a number of new features to the application.

Opera GX update: network limiter and more

The big new feature in the new Opera GX version is the built-in network limiter. It complements the RAM and CPU limiter that have been a part of the browser since launch.

The feature is disabled by default but may be disabled with a click from the GX Control panel that is displayed by default. Just toggle Network Limiter and select one of the available bandwidth limits to set the threshold.

The default limit is set to 1 Mb/s and presets range from 64 KB/s to 25 MB/s. Options to set a custom limit are not available.

Opera Software lists several scenarios where the network limiter may come in handy, among them limiting downloads to make sure that Internet games work fine, to limit streaming services while playing games, or when the network is slow.

The limit applies to the browser as a whole and that means that Internet services that you run outside of the browser benefit from setting those limits. The same is true for the RAM and CPU limiter.

The Gaming Corner provides information and news about upcoming and popular games. A release calendar has been added in the new version that highlights upcoming game releases.

Opera GX may customize the selection by clicking on the preferences icon and selecting the platforms and sections that they are interested in. You could limit the display to PC and Linux games only, or disable deals to see upcoming releases and news only.

Opera GX supported the streaming service Twitch from the very first release. Twitch users may sign-in to their Twitch account from within the browser to manage channels and quickly tune-in to a channel.

The latest update introduces options to hover over a channel to display the cover of the game that is streamed on the channel at the time. Another new option is a filter list for subscribed channels to find channels more quickly, and new preferences to enable or disable sound and search, and to change the layout and hover style.

Closing Words

Opera GX is a specialized browser that puts a strong focus on gaming and design. While it is almost certainly true that it will never reach the audience of the main Opera web browser, it cannot be denied that it has the potential to establish itself as a niche browser for gamers and streamers.

]]>The translation service Deepl released desktop programs for Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Mac OS operating system on September 12, 2019.

DeepL Translator was launched in August 2017 to provide better translation services than established translate services such as Google Translate or Bing Translate. The service launched with a limited number of supported languages -- only eight languages that you could translate -- and the promise to improve supported languages and the service in the future.

DeepL for Windows and Mac extends the service once more. The desktop programs integrate the translation service right on the desktop giving users options to translate text directly.

We took a look at the latest DeepL for Windows. The program is marked as beta.

DeepL for Windows

DeepL for Windows displays a short help screen when you run it on your system. Note that the application requires Internet connectivity to work.

It maps its translate functionality to the Ctrl-C key. Ctrl-C copies selected text to the clipboard and while that functionality remains untouched, pressing Ctrl-C twice pushes the copied text to the DeepL interface where it is translated automatically.

You may change the target language in the DeepL interface to any of the supported languages.

DeepL adds an icon to the Windows System Tray when you run it which you may use to bring up the program interface. You may type or paste text into the interface manually at any time to have it translated right then and there.

DeepL may display alternative translations for individual words, phrases or sentences. A click on a word displays synonyms in a menu.

Click on Menu and select Settings to open the preferences. There is not much to see here apart from options to change the notifications settings, exclude certain programs from the quick translation functionality, or changing the trigger.

The beta offers no option to disable notifications permanently. DeepL displays a notification whenever you use Ctrl-C. While you may pause the notification for one hour or until restart, you won't find an option to disable them permanently. The notification is helpful in the beginning as it reminds you that you may translate by pressing Ctrl-C again or by clicking on the notification popup but once you know that, it becomes somewhat annoying that you cannot disable it.

You can exclude programs that run only. Just select the plus icon in the settings and select one of the programs to block DeepL from interacting with it.

Closing Words

DeepL is my go-to translation service for any of the languages that it supports. The introduction of desktop programs for Windows and Mac adds a new option to the service that desktop workers may find useful as it speeds up the translating significantly.

Instead of having to keep the DeepL website open to translate content, it is now a matter of pressing Ctrl-C again on Windows to translate the text. The copy to translate function worked without hitches during tests; DeepL's desktop program picked up copied text from any of the applications that I ran on the desktop and translated it instantly.

I wish the developers would add an option to disable the notification permanently though; it displays even if you just copy text for use in another program and if you do that often on your desktop, you may find that highly annoying.

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]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/ghacks-deals-the-microsoft-technology-associate-mastery-bundle-92-off/feed/0Microsoft confirms second search bug in a row in Windows 10 1903https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/microsoft-confirms-windows-10-1903-search-bug/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/microsoft-confirms-windows-10-1903-search-bug/#commentsThu, 12 Sep 2019 14:01:14 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154630It took Microsoft just one day to acknowledge an issue related to the Start Menu and Windows Desktop Search in Windows 10 version 1903 caused by the recently released cumulative update KB4515384. […]

]]>It took Microsoft just one day to acknowledge an issue related to the Start Menu and Windows Desktop Search in Windows 10 version 1903 caused by the recently released cumulative update KB4515384.

The company released the monthly cumulative update for the operating system on Tuesday stating that it had fixed the search issue that was plaguing some users who installed the previous update for the operating system.

Update: Microsoft published a support article that suggests solutions to resolve the issue. Here is the list of suggestions:

Run the search and indexing troubleshooter. Run from command msdt.exe -ep WindowsHelp id SearchDiagnostic

The previous bug caused high CPU usage on some systems the update was installed on. The process SearchUI.exe was responsible and users could verify that by opening the Task Manager on the device.

Uninstallation of the update resolved the issue and some admins found that certain workarounds such as enable web search helped as well.

The cumulative update KB4515384 that Microsoft released on September 10, 2019 fixed the high CPU usage. Some users who installed the update right away on PC systems reported that they ran into another search related issue after installation of the update; Start Menu searches would turn up blank and the loading icon would display indefinitely.

Microsoft acknowledged the bug on September 11, 2019, a day after release, on the official Windows 10 version 1903 known issues and notifications page.

Some users report issues related to the Start menu and Windows Desktop Search

Microsoft has received reports that some users are having issues related to the Start menu and Windows Desktop Search.

The company notes that it is investigating the issue currently. The issue has not been added to the know issues section of the released KB4515384 update yet; this may happen after confirmation of the bug by Microsoft

Microsoft reacted quickly to reports of the new issue as it published the acknowledgement just a day after release of the update. It took Microsoft four days to confirm the previous search related issue. It is unclear at this point if the second bug is related to the first search bug or if it is unrelated.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/microsoft-confirms-windows-10-1903-search-bug/feed/18WinOTP Authenticator is an open-source alternative for WinAuthhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/winotp-authenticator-open-source-alternative-for-winauth/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/winotp-authenticator-open-source-alternative-for-winauth/#commentsThu, 12 Sep 2019 06:21:45 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154588Some days ago, we told you about Authenticator, an open-source 2-step verification app for iOS. The app generates codes for two-factor authentication use. Many web services support 2FA to add another layer […]

]]>Some days ago, we told you about Authenticator, an open-source 2-step verification app for iOS. The app generates codes for two-factor authentication use. Many web services support 2FA to add another layer of security to the user authentication process.

Today, it's the turn of an equally simple Windows app called WinOTP Authenticator. It is a UWP app, and hence exclusive to Windows 10.

A brief history about the app: about a year ago an app called "Authenticator for Windows" was removed from the Windows Store. This was a proprietary app and was one of the few available for Windows Phone/Windows 10. The author open-sourced the app shortly after hoping that someone would resurrect it, and that's exactly what happened a few months ago.

How to add an account to WinOTP Authenticator

This process is slightly different from a phone 2FA app where you'd point the camera at the QR code on the screen and are done with it. The app works by entering the "secret key" manually which is identical to the process on mobile devices if you select the manual way during setup.

Here is how it works:

Enter the name of the account's website in the Service box (for e.g. Microsoft, Google, Apple, etc). This is just for your reference and you may pick anything you want. It is advised to pick a descriptive name to help with identification.

Type your account's username in the corresponding field. This can be whatever you want to as well.

Finally, enter the long code from the website's 2-step authentication settings.

Click on the save button.

Note: There is an alternative way. The program says that you can drag the QR-code that is displayed on the screen on to the interface of WinOTP Authenticator and it should read the code. I tried it a couple of dozen times with different services, but it did not work.

TOTP timer bar

Instead of a circle (which fills up or disappears) that you are maybe used to when you use mobile devices to generate the authentication code, WinOTP Authenticator displays a horizontal bar that progresses from the left to the right to indicate when the displayed code will expire.

Copy to clipboard

WinOTP Authenticator displays the TOTP codes for all of your added accounts on the home page. To copy a code to the clipboard just click on it. There is a setting which clears the clipboard when a copied code expires; this is enabled by default and there is little reason to disable it unless you need more time.

Note: The Sync with OneDrive option causes WinOTP Authenticator to crash, at least for me.

You can reorder or delete accounts by clicking on the pencil button on the start bar. Remember to disable 2FA from your account's settings on the website before deleting it from the app as you may run into authentication issues otherwise. You can toggle the app to sync the time using NTP; this is important since 2-factor codes are time based.

Apart from the QR Code and OneDrive issues (which are on the developer's roadmap), the app worked without issues. It offers a convenient option to log in to websites with click and paste.

I stumbled upon this app while looking for a WinAuth alternative and it has been a fine replacement. Normally I wouldn't recommend using a PC app for 2-factor authentication because anyone who has access to the PC will have access to the 2FA codes. But, many people have a PC that is private (at home or work), in which case it can be a pretty secure option especially if you use encryption to further protect it from unauthorized access. I'd still recommend using a phone app/email for 2FAs as a fallback (and don't forget those recovery/backup codes).

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/winotp-authenticator-open-source-alternative-for-winauth/feed/11Firefox Premium for Enterprises is now availablehttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/firefox-premium-for-enterprises-is-now-available/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/firefox-premium-for-enterprises-is-now-available/#commentsThu, 12 Sep 2019 05:45:25 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154625Organizations that run the Firefox web browser in Enterprise environments may subscribe to a newly established Premium plan to extend support. Firefox Premium Support is a new offer for Enterprises that provides […]

]]>Organizations that run the Firefox web browser in Enterprise environments may subscribe to a newly established Premium plan to extend support.

Firefox Premium Support is a new offer for Enterprises that provides organizations with improved support options. The plan provides access to an Enterprise customer portal, improved bug submission options and bug fixes, SLA management tools and more.

Firefox remains free of charge for Home users and Enterprise users alike. The Firefox Extended Support Release edition remains free and can be used by anyone without charge. Support remains community driven for the most part; users may use the Mozilla Wiki, file bugs on Mozilla@Bugzilla, or use the community forums for support.

Premium Support is a new support plan for Enterprises. The plan starts at $10 per supported installation and includes the following benefits:

Private bug submission

Critical security bug fixes with SLA

Concierge bug entry with guaranteed response time

Enterprise customer portal

Contribute to Firefox and the roadmap

Proactive notifications on critical Firefox events

SLA management tool

The benefits that premium support customers get are quite extensive and assist Enterprises in customizing, deploying, and managing Firefox installations. The ability to file private bugs and guaranteed response times may be especially welcome to Enterprise customers.

Mozilla provides deeper insight into the future of Firefox development next to that; Enterprise customers are informed about critical events. While Mozilla does not reveal what is meant by that, it is likely that the notifications include advanced notifications about major changes to Firefox, e.g. the introduction of new features such as DNS over HTTPS.

Closing Words

Firefox Premium Support is a new option for Enterprise customers that improves support significantly in several ways for organizations; this makes Firefox more attractive to organizations and may help Mozilla diversify its revenue streams at the same time.

It remains to be seen if the ability to file private bugs affects the openness of Firefox development. Some bugs, most notable security bugs, are restricted as well.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/12/firefox-premium-for-enterprises-is-now-available/feed/28Glow is a settings generator for mpv CONF fileshttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/glow-is-a-settings-generator-for-mpv/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/glow-is-a-settings-generator-for-mpv/#commentsWed, 11 Sep 2019 17:00:04 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154618Back in July 2019, we told you how to customize the settings in mpv which involved setting up a CONF file from scratch with the options that you want. Though it is […]

]]>Back in July 2019, we told you how to customize the settings in mpv which involved setting up a CONF file from scratch with the options that you want.

Though it is an easy task for advanced users, it can be a daunting one for some users. You may have even switched to mpv.net or other video players just so you could control the program easily.

An alternative would be to download a preset CONF file which another user has created. But those would have the author's settings and not necessarily yours. There is a very simple solution to this called Glow; it is a configuration file generator for mpv and has a size of about 260KB.

Note: Glow is available as alpha software that requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5. The program ran stable during tests.

Glow's interface is streamlined for ease of use. The configuration settings are displayed in a pane on the left and the available configuration options in a sidebar on the right. A toolbar is provided at the bottom which you may use to generate and save configuration files among other things.

How to customize mpv using Glow settings generator

The first thing you want to do is set the folder path for your mpv.exe, mpv CONF file and the Glow profiles. To do so click on the gear icon on the toolbar at the bottom and click on the path fields to set the paths.

Now to the options: Glow groups the available mpv settings in tabs to improve the program's usability. These are: General, Stream, Display, Video, Audio and Subtitles. All you need to do to enable, disable, or configure a setting is to click on it; it doesn't get simpler than that.

Let me re-use my previous example: I want to set the volume to a maximum of 200. All I have to do to achieve this is to click on the Audio tab, type 200 in the Volume Max box and hit enter to apply the setting. You may also use the slider for this particular setting if you prefer to use the mouse.

Some options have a drop-down menu that lists the different options. Just click on it and select the option that you want. To normalize the volume, you would click on the menu and select Yes from the list of items presented to you to activate the feature.

When you're done customizing the options click on the "Generate" button at the bottom to create the CONF file. The left pane is filled with the settings that you have customized. You can either copy and paste the instructions in your CONF file or click on the save button to store the generated settings in a new CONF file that you may use from that moment on.

Does this work for portable mpv? Yes it does, just make sure you set the location of the CONF to either "portable_config" or the "\AppData\Roaming\mpv" path. Having both will make mpv default to the portable one.

Presets

Glow has 5 presets available for mpv settings: Default, Ultra, High, Medium and Low. These are default configurations suitable for different hardware configurations and requirements. You may need to experiment with these and may modify them once you find the most suitable preset.

There is an optional light theme available from Glow's settings, in case you don't like the dark theme. The program has not been updated since 2018 but that is not an issue currently as it works just fine.

Whenever I recommend mpv to people, they seem impressed at first but are put away by the lack of a built-in context menu/settings. Glow offers what you want without changing the interface of mpv in any way. I never expected to find a solution for managing the mpv settings easily, let alone one that works that well.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/glow-is-a-settings-generator-for-mpv/feed/8Windows September 2019 Updates: more search woes and Telemetryhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/windows-september-2019-updates-more-search-woes-and-telemetry/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/windows-september-2019-updates-more-search-woes-and-telemetry/#commentsWed, 11 Sep 2019 12:51:04 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154615Microsoft released security updates and regular updates for all versions of Windows on yesterday's September 2019 Patch Tuesday. It does not take long, usually, before an assessment can be made on the […]

]]>Microsoft released security updates and regular updates for all versions of Windows on yesterday's September 2019 Patch Tuesday. It does not take long, usually, before an assessment can be made on the quality of the released updates.

Microsoft fixed the high CPU usage issue that affected some users on Windows 10 version 1903. Reports about the issue started to appear on several Internet forums after Microsoft published the cumulative update KB4512941 for Windows 10 version 1903 in early September.

The high CPU usage was caused by the Cortana process SearchUI.exe that caused the load on the system. Some administrators uninstalled the update to fix the issue, others managed to fix it by enabling Bing Web Search on the system it it was disabled.

The release notes for KB4515384 for Windows 10 version 1903 and Windows Server version 1903 highlight that Microsoft fixed the issue:

Addresses an issue that causes high CPU usage from SearchUI.exe for a small number of users. This issue only occurs on devices that have disabled searching the web using Windows Desktop Search.

I received several emails in the past 24 hours by users who informed me that search is still broken on their systems after installing the latest patch. A thread on Reddit provides further user reports on the issue.

According to the reports, search is not working for some users. Whenever they run searches, a blank results page is shown; this appears to be the most common issue that users experience.

The number of systems affected by this is unclear. Microsoft has not acknowledged the issue.

Telemetry on Windows 7 / 8.1

Microsoft releases security-only updates for Windows 7 and 8.1 that are designed to patch vulnerabilities only in those versions of Windows.

The company added non-security related patches to the security-only updates in the past; this happened when Microsoft released the July update for Windows 7 SP1 and appears to have happened again with the September 2019 update.

Ghacks user Belga stated that two Telemetry tasks were added on a system running Windows 8.1 after installation of the security-only update for Windows 8.1, and a report on Ask Woody suggests that Microsoft replaced the compatibility update KB2952664 on this patch day which contains Telemetry.

When you open the Windows 7 SP1 update KB4516033 on the Microsoft Update Catalog you will notice that KB2952664 is listed as one of the updates that the new update replaces.

Closing Words

In this day and age, it seems like a good idea to wait with the installation of updates at least for a short while to to make sure that they are free of issues or undesirable changes.

]]>Google revealed plans to test the company's implementation of DNS over HTTPS (DoH) in Chrome 78. DNS over HTTPS aims to improve security and privacy of DNS requests by utilizing HTTPS. The current stable version of Chrome is 77 released on September 10, 2019.

Google notes that DoH prevents other WiFi users from seeing visited websites; common attacks such as spoofing or pharming could potentially be prevented by using DoH.

Google's DNS over HTTPS plan

Google picked a different route for the test. The company decided to test the implementation using multiple DoH providers. The company could have used its own DoH service for the tests but decided to select multiple providers instead.

Tests will upgrade Chrome installations to use DoH if the DNS service that is used on the system supports DoH. Google circumnavigates any criticism in regards to privacy that Mozilla faced when it announced the partnership with Cloudflare.

Google selected the cooperating providers for "their strong stance on security and privacy" and "readiness of their DoH services" and agreement to participate in the test.

If Chrome runs on a system that uses one of these services for DNS, it will start using DoH instead when Chrome 78 launches.

The experiment will run on all platforms for a fraction of Chrome users with the exception of Chrome on Linux and iOS. Chrome will revert to the regular DNS service in the case of errors.

Most managed Chrome deployments will be excluded from the experiment, and Google plans to provide details on DoH policies on the company's Chrome Enterprise blog before release to provide administrators with information on configuring those.

Chrome users may use the flag chrome://flags/#dns-over-http to opt in or out of the experiment. The flag is not integrated in any version of the Chrome browser yet.

Secure DNS lookups

Enables DNS over HTTPS. When this feature is enabled, your browser may try to use a secure HTTPS connection to look up the addresses of websites and other web resources. – Mac, Windows, Chrome OS, Android

Closing Words

Most Chromium-based browsers and Firefox will start to use DNS over HTTPS in the near future. Firefox provides options to disable the feature and Chrome comes with an experimental flag that offers the same. Experimental flags may be removed at one point in the future however and it is unclear at this point whether Google plans to add a switch to Chrome's preference to enable or disable the feature.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/google-plans-to-test-dns-over-https-in-chrome-78/feed/17KeePass 2.43 Password Manager releasedhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/keepass-2-43-password-manager-released/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/keepass-2-43-password-manager-released/#commentsWed, 11 Sep 2019 05:21:04 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154602A new version of the password manager KeePass was released on September 10, 2019. KeePass Password Safe 2.43 is an update for the 2.x version of the password manager that introduces new […]

Ghacks needs you. You can find out how to support us here (https://www.ghacks.net/support/) or support the site directly by becoming a Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ghacks/). Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post KeePass 2.43 Password Manager released appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

]]>A new version of the password manager KeePass was released on September 10, 2019. KeePass Password Safe 2.43 is an update for the 2.x version of the password manager that introduces new features and improvements.

KeePass should notify users that the new version is available if update checks have not been disabled. Users may download the new version from the official repository and install it over the existing installation.

KeePass 2.43

KeePass 2.43 does not introduce major new features to the application but some may still be of interest to users.

One of those changes improves the password generator. KeePass provides options to create custom passwords by specifying character sets. Some of these sets list only some of the characters that KeePass may pick when the set is selected. While that is not a problem for letters or digits, it may be a problem for special characters.

You may now hover over these sets to have all supported characters displayed in a popup.

A new intermediate step has been added to the password quality bar; just open any entry in KeePass and you will see the new quality bar. The bar is an estimation of the strength of the password based on certain patterns.

The password manager is set up to exclude itself from Windows Error Reporting in that new version.

Auto-Type received some love in the new version. The feature sends an automated sequence of keypresses to any open program window. KeePass 2.43 improves the sending of modifier keys, characters that use Ctrl-Alt or AltGr, and improves compatibility with VMware Remote Console and Dameware Mini Remote Control.

Another key-related change is support for setting up function keys without modifiers as system-wide hot keys.

Other than those already mentioned, there is a new option to use Esc to deselect main menu items, the linking of username suggestions to the display of usernames in the main window, and improvements to the automatic scrolling performance.

Ghacks needs you. You can find out how to support us here (https://www.ghacks.net/support/) or support the site directly by becoming a Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/ghacks/). Thank you for being a Ghacks reader. The post KeePass 2.43 Password Manager released appeared first on gHacks Technology News.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/11/keepass-2-43-password-manager-released/feed/5Sandbox program Sandboxie is now freeware (soon open source)https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/sandbox-program-sandboxie-is-now-freeware-soon-open-source/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/sandbox-program-sandboxie-is-now-freeware-soon-open-source/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2019 19:44:25 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154598Sandboxie, a sandbox program for Microsoft's Windows operating system, has been turned into a free application. The latest version, Sandboxie 5.31.4 was released on September 10, 2019; it is the first version […]

]]>Sandboxie, a sandbox program for Microsoft's Windows operating system, has been turned into a free application. The latest version, Sandboxie 5.31.4 was released on September 10, 2019; it is the first version of Sandboxie that is available as freeware.

Sandboxie started out as a shareware program for Windows to run applications and files in a sandbox on the running system. Created by developer Ronen Tzur, it was picked up by Invincea before Invincea itself was acquired by security company Sophos.

Sophos did not change the Sandboxie license initially when it acquired the assets. Sophos announced the license change on the official Sophos Community blog today. The company revealed plans to make Sandboxie an open source tool eventually.

The new Sandboxie version that Sophos released today does not require an activation code and does not restrict access to features that were available to paid customers only previously. In other words: all features of the premium version of Sandboxie are available for free as of today.

The paid version of Sandboxie supported several features that the free version did not support. Most notable the ability to force programs to run in the sandbox and the ability to create and use multiple sandboxes on the system, and even to run the same program in multiple sandboxes.

Sandboxie cannot be downloaded directly from the official website; Sophos added a form to the download process that users need to fill out before the download is unlocked. The company promises that the information won't be used for marketing purposes.

What about paying customers?

Sandboxie has been turned into freeware and it will become an open source program in the future. Sophos plans to hand over the program to the community. It is unclear if the community will be 100% responsible for the development or if Sophos engineers will work on Sandboxie as well.

Customers who purchased Sandboxie in the past are asked to update to the new version as well. The license terms don't change according to this FAQ for paid license holders but customer support will become community based.

Closing Words

Sandboxie is a handy software for Windows to quickly run programs or files in a sandbox for security purposes. While you can achieve the same using virtual machines, one of Sandboxie's appeals was that it used the underlying system for its sandbox which meant no installation of operating systems or slow startups.

Sophos would certainly have felt the wrath of the Sandboxie community if it would have stopped development. The release as freeware and later on as a community maintained open source project is a good PR move but also the best option for existing Sandboxie users and the future of the application. Who knows, maybe we will see Sandboxie creator Ronen return as a developer to the project.

Now you: have you used Sandboxie in the past? What is your take on the development?

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/sandbox-program-sandboxie-is-now-freeware-soon-open-source/feed/51Microsoft Windows Security Updates September 2019 overviewhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/microsoft-windows-security-updates-september-2019-overview/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/microsoft-windows-security-updates-september-2019-overview/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2019 17:34:05 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154587It is September 10, 2019 and Microsoft has just released security and non-security updates for its Microsoft Windows operating system and other company products. Our overview of the September 2019 Patch Day […]

]]>It is September 10, 2019 and Microsoft has just released security and non-security updates for its Microsoft Windows operating system and other company products.

Our overview of the September 2019 Patch Day provides system administrators and home users with information on the released updates. It features some stats at the beginning, provides links to all support articles and direct download options, lists known issues and security advisories, and provides other relevant information.

Security advisories and updates

Non-security related updates

Microsoft Office Updates

How to download and install the September 2019 security updates

Most home systems receive updates automatically especially when they run Windows 10. Updates are not pushed in real-time to devices running Windows. Some administrators prefer to install security updates the moment they are released, others to wait to make sure that the updates don't introduce any issues on the system.

Admins may check for updates manually to retrieve the released updates right away. Here is how that is done:

Open the Start Menu of the Windows operating system, type Windows Update and select the result.

Select check for updates in the application that opens. Updates may be installed automatically when they are found or offered by Windows; this depends on the operating system and version that is used, and update settings.

Updates may also be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog website.

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]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/ghacks-deals-the-complete-information-security-certification-bundle-97-off/feed/0Mozilla relaunches the Firefox Test Pilot program to test privacy-focused productshttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/mozilla-relaunches-the-firefox-test-pilot-program-to-test-privacy-focused-products/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/mozilla-relaunches-the-firefox-test-pilot-program-to-test-privacy-focused-products/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2019 14:12:44 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154581Mozilla relaunched the Firefox Test Pilot program on September 10, 2019 to test privacy-focused products. The organization shut down the program twice already, the last time in January 2019. The second "Test […]

]]>Mozilla relaunched the Firefox Test Pilot program on September 10, 2019 to test privacy-focused products.

The organization shut down the program twice already, the last time in January 2019. The second "Test Pilot" program was launched by Mozilla in 2016 as a way to test new features, get feedback from Firefox users, and gather data to determine if experiments would make good additions to Firefox, be better off as extensions, or standalone services.

Today's relaunch of the Test Pilot program moves the program into a different direction. Mozilla notes that it is designed to give "loyal and faithful users" an option to "test-drive new, privacy-centric products as part of the relaunched Test Pilot program". One of the core differences to the previous program is that these products may be outside of the Firefox web browser and that they will be "just one step shy of general public release".

Firefox Private Network

The first product of the new Test Pilot program is called Firefox Private Network. The program is open to users from the United States only at the time and a Firefox account is required as well.

Mozilla's description is vague when it comes to the underlying functionality. It appears to be a browser proxy of sorts designed to protect Internet traffic better similarly to other third-party proxy/VPN extensions for Firefox. The service is free for a limited time only according to Mozilla.

The organization highlights three key features:

Protection of data when using public WiFi access points.

The IP address of the user is masked from sites and advertisers.

Ability to toggle it on or off.

The encrypted traffic flows through servers provided by Cloudflare, the same company that Mozilla picked for Firefox's upcoming DNS over HTTPS feature. Mozilla promises that "strong privacy controls limit what data" Cloudflare may collect and for how long it may store the data that it is allowed to connect.

Firefox Private Network is offered as a browser extension for Firefox. It adds an icon to Firefox's toolbar that indicates whether the service is enabled or not. A click on the icon displays its basic interface; you need to sign in to a Firefox account to start using it.

The only option that the extension provides is to toggle the product on or off. Options to see the new IP address, switch to a different server, and other comfort functions are missing at this point.

Whenever the extension is active, the browser will establish a secure connection to the nearest Cloudflare data center and the Cloudflare proxy will route your web-traffic to the requested website through the Cloudflare network.

A click on the settings icon displays options to leave feedback or check out the privacy policy. The Firefox Private Network privacy policy provides information on Cloudflare's handling of the data:

Cloudflare records the IP address, destination IP address, source and destination port, timestamp, and a token provided by Mozilla that indicates that the service is used. The company will delete the data within 24 hours.

Cloudflare won't log HTTP request data that is not encrypted.

Cloudflare may not use the data in any way except for improving the service and assist in debugging if issues arise.

Mozilla receives data to better understand "service performance, interaction with Firefox" and how to improve the feature.

Firefox sends data about the device, operating system version and a unique identifier that Mozilla connects to the Firefox Account.

Mozilla gets Firefox Account data including the email address, locale and IP address, and interaction data next to that.

Closing Words

Firefox Private Network is a proxy service designed to improve user privacy by letting traffic flow through Cloudflare's servers. It sounds as if the service will launch as a paid service eventually; whether it is going to become available worldwide then or only to select regions remains to be seen.

Mozilla struck a deal with Cloudflare that limits Cloudflare's access to the data; this won't be sufficient to some users but may be sufficient to the majority. I'm by far more interested in the linking of a unique identifier to a Firefox account. It is not clear if the link will be kept indefinitely or if it is only stored for the testing period.

Much of the success of Firefox Private Network will depend on the price and whether a free version will be offered. Mozilla could, in theory, launch the extension for Google Chrome as well to reach more potential customers.

Browser proxies like Firefox Private Network are limited to the browser they are installed it. VPN services on the other hand run on the system which makes their use flexible as they protect the user in all applications.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/mozilla-relaunches-the-firefox-test-pilot-program-to-test-privacy-focused-products/feed/19FireMonkey uses Firefox's official API for userscripts and userstyleshttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/firemonkey-uses-firefoxs-official-api-for-userscripts-and-userstyles/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/firemonkey-uses-firefoxs-official-api-for-userscripts-and-userstyles/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2019 10:25:40 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154573FireMonkey is a new browser extension for the Firefox web browser that enables users to manage userscripts and userstyles using the userscripts API that Mozilla introduced in Firefox recently. The extension offers […]

]]>FireMonkey is a new browser extension for the Firefox web browser that enables users to manage userscripts and userstyles using the userscripts API that Mozilla introduced in Firefox recently.

The extension offers similar functionality to established userscript extensions such as GreaseMonkey, TamperMonkey or ViolentMonkey as well as userstyle extensions such as Stylus on first glance. One of the core differences, at least right now, is FireMonkey's use of the new UserScripts API that Mozilla implemented in Firefox recently.

Mozilla revealed that it created the API to address performance, reliability and security issues in regards to user scripts in Firefox. The API is designed to run userscripts in their own sandbox to isolate them; traditional extensions such as GreaseMonkey execute the scripts in the same process.

FireMonkey requests lots of permissions during installation; the developer explains why these are needed on Mozilla AMO. It requests the same permissions that other userscript extensions request.

FireMonkey

Current versions of Firefox support the UserScripts API. You can check whether that is the case in the following way:

Load about:config in the Firefox address bar.

Confirm that you will be careful.

Search for extensions.webextensions.userScripts.enabled.

If the preference is set to TRUE, it is enabled. A value of FALSE means it is not enabled.

You may load userscripts and userstyles in the extension. The process is a manual one right now. Click on the extension icon and there on the add icons to add a new script or style to Firefox. You may also use the export and import options that you find in the extension's settings.

Adding scripts or styles is not as comfortable right now as you need to copy the code, click on the add button, paste it before you click on save. Still, the process worked flawlessly when I tried it using scripts posted on Grease Fork.

Options to save userscripts in disabled state or with auto-updating enabled are provided in the editor. You may edit userscripts and userstyles at any time using the extension.

The extension supports GreaseMonkey GM3 and GM4 functions and functions provided by the Firefox API. Some scripts may not work properly when you create or import them; the Firefox API does not allow wildcard top level domains (TLD) which means that something like http*://www.google.*/* is not supported. It may be necessary to adjust scripts accordingly so that they may be imported without issues.

FireMonkey comes with a Help file that explains differences and provides examples. It is a good place to start your investigation if something does not work as expected.

The extension icon displays the number of scripts and styles that run on the active site. A click on the icon displays the active scripts and styles, and an option to disable or enable any with a single-click.

The developer of the extension added a number of helpful features to the extension to improve management and identification of scripts. Script errors reference the name of the script in the console for improved identification and notifications from scripts display the script's name as well.

Closing Words

FireMonkey is a promising new extension for the Firefox browser that has a lot to offer even in the initial version. You can load, manage, edit, and create userscripts and userstyles using it, and it is using the new userscripts API that Mozilla will certainly put the focus on in the future.

The extension would benefit from a few nice to have features, e.g. direct imports from other userscript extensions that are installed or recognition of the "install" button on popular userscript repositories.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/firemonkey-uses-firefoxs-official-api-for-userscripts-and-userstyles/feed/7How to use multiple Microsoft Accounts in the new Microsoft Edge browserhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/how-to-use-multiple-microsoft-accounts-in-the-new-microsoft-edge-browser/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/how-to-use-multiple-microsoft-accounts-in-the-new-microsoft-edge-browser/#commentsTue, 10 Sep 2019 05:36:54 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154567The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser that Microsoft is working on currently supports a number of features that the classic Edge browser does not support. One of these is the ability to […]

]]>The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser that Microsoft is working on currently supports a number of features that the classic Edge browser does not support.

One of these is the ability to add multiple Microsoft Accounts and non-Microsoft accounts to the browser to switch between them.

Each profile comes with its own set of personal data and saved data, e.g. passwords or browsing data, and if a Microsoft Account is used, may use synchronization to sync the data between devices.

Using multiple profiles in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge displays a profile icon in the top toolbar; a click on the icon displays information about the current profile. If you did not sign in to a Microsoft Account previously, you will find that a local profile is used.

The core difference between local and Microsoft Accounts in Edge is that the former don't support syncing while the latter do.

The option to sign in to a Microsoft Account is provided in the popup that opens when you click on the profile icon.

All existing profiles are listed in the popup as well as options to start a guest browsing session, add a new profile, or open the profile settings.

A click on "add profile" displays options to create a new user profile in Microsoft Edge right then and there. You may pick a different profile icon and select a name for the profile. Options to sign-in using a Microsoft Account are not provided in the menu; this needs to be done in the settings or when you switch to the profile.

The best way to manage profiles is to either click on the "manage profile settings" link or load edge://settings/people directly in Microsoft Edge.

All profiles that exist on the local machine are displayed on the page that opens. One is expanded and you get options to edit or remove it, and to sign in to a Microsoft account or sign out.

Options to manage passwords, payment information, addresses, and to import browser data are provided regardless of account type. Sync is only activated for Microsoft Accounts.

Synchronization

A click on Sync displays the syncing preferences. You may use these to select the types of data that you want to synchronize. Note that syncing means that that data is stored in the cloud.

The following information may be synced using Microsoft Accounts in the new Microsoft Edge:

Favorites -- The browser bookmarks.

Extensions -- Browser extensions.

History -- The browsing history, e.g. visited pages.

Settings -- The preferences.

Open tabs -- All open webpages.

Addresses, phone numbers, and more -- form data.

Passwords -- Saved passwords for online services.

Using multiple profiles in Edge

The main benefit of running multiple profiles in a browser is that you may use it to separate data. You could create a work and home account and use them accordingly. Doing so would isolate work-related data, e.g. favorites, browsing history, or passwords, when the home account is used and vice versa. Means, among other things, that you won't get work related suggestions when you type in the address bar.

Local and Microsoft accounts can be mixed. You could use one Microsoft Account and a local account in Edge on a system, and two Microsoft Accounts on another.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/10/how-to-use-multiple-microsoft-accounts-in-the-new-microsoft-edge-browser/feed/2Tip: how to change the Windows Task Manager update speedhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/tip-how-to-change-the-windows-task-manager-update-speed/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/tip-how-to-change-the-windows-task-manager-update-speed/#commentsMon, 09 Sep 2019 16:30:26 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154558Microsoft modified the built-in Task Manager of the Windows operating system significantly when it released Windows 10 in 2015. Some of the changes did not add value to the administrative tool; a […]

]]>Microsoft modified the built-in Task Manager of the Windows operating system significantly when it released Windows 10 in 2015. Some of the changes did not add value to the administrative tool; a prime example is the new default view mode of the Task Manager.

The basic view mode lists open programs but no other information and most system administrators and advanced users consider it completely useless. Good news is that Windows remembers when you switch to the full view mode and that you may set a default tab in the Task Manager in Windows 10 1903.

One issue that you may have with these listings is that they tend to update fairly quickly. The order of process groups and processes may change when the listing updates and that may make it more difficult to focus on individual processes.

The Windows Task Manager supports an option to change the update speed of the listings. Microsoft implemented the functionality in earlier versions of Windows and it is part of the Windows 10 Task Manager as well.

All you have to do is select View > Update speed to switch to a new update interval.

The Task Manager supports the following intervals:

High

Normal

Low

Paused

Normal is the default interval; high speeds up the updating, low slows it down. Admins who want to freeze the process listing may selected paused to do so. Windows won't update the listing when paused is selected. Low seems to slow down the update interval to about 5 seconds.

The update speed affects all displays (tabs) of the Task Manager and not only the process listings. The task manager remembers the selected update speed. If you have selected paused, it will launch with that update interval the next time you fire it up.

Closing words

The ability to pause the listing or to slow it down will certainly be appreciate by Windows administrators who use the built-in Task Manager for certain tasks. The saving of the update speed state is useful as well for some users, others need to remember to change the value back before they close the application.

]]>When it comes to iOS, open-source apps are something of a rarity but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

If you're looking for an alternative for Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, LastPass Authenticator, or Authy, you may want to give Authenticator a chance.

Authenticator for iOS

Why? Do you really want to hand over the two-factor authentication process to these big companies or proprietary software?

This is a TOTP (time-based one-time password) app and does not require an Internet connection because of that. The app is probably one of the simplest that you will come across in the niche; it just has the option to add/remove accounts and that is about it.

Well, the only other option that is available is the "Digit Grouping". You can either choose to display the codes in 3 x 2-digit pair groups, or 2 x 3-digit groups. Once you have installed Authenticator on your iPhone or iPad, you will see a nearly blank screen with a few buttons on start.

Adding an account to Authenticator

Refer to your email/social network account's website to set up 2-step verification. Once you get to the page where you are asked to scan a "QR code", run Authenticator and tap on the + button to add an account. Point the camera to the QR code on the computer's screen.

The app should add the account, and display the 6-digit code for it on the screen. Now, most websites which you're setting up 2-step authentication for will require you to enter the TOTP to confirm that it has been configured correctly.

Manually setting up 2FA tokens:

Tap on the plus button, and then on the edit button (note and pencil icon) on the top and you will see a screen which asks for the following:

Issuer (website's name)

Account name (username@account.com)

Secret Key

You can obtain the secret key for your account from its associated website. You can set TOTP or Counter based tokens, and set it to 6, 7 or 8 digits, SHA-1, SHA-256 or SHA-512.

Where it lacks and shines

Personally, I would have liked it if the app asked me for a PIN code or password to unlock the 2FA database. An extra layer of security is always a good idea even if it would rely on TouchID or the device's PIN.

You may reduce the issue by setting the screen timeout to the minimum and not the 2-minute default on iOS.

On the bright side, it does not store your 2FA tokens in the cloud in any form. There is no way to backup (or export) your tokens on the other hand. And the fact that Authenticator is open source, unlike nearly every iOS 2-factor authentication app out there, makes it priceless in my opinion.

Here's some advice regarding 2FA apps.

Use an open source app whenever possible.

Do not use SMS based 2-factor verification systems (I think Yahoo still uses this) as the text message protocol is not secure.

Use an app which works completely offline if possible; this is not only better as it will work in regions with bad Internet reception or if the mobile provider has issues, it is also better for security as you eliminate transfers and don't risk losing access to accounts if you lose your phone or device.

It is not a good idea to use the password manager for 2FA as well if the manager supports it as you would put all eggs in a basket. At the very least, make sure you're using separate databases for your 2FAs and passwords. But I'd use separate apps for 2FA and passwords. In case of cloud-based password managers that also support 2FA, think about it. If the password database or service is breached, so is your 2FA.

Always have backup or recovery codes at hand in case something goes terribly wrong. Most services support these during creation.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/authenticator-open-source-2-step-verification-app-for-ios/feed/4Vivaldi releases Vivaldi mobile browser for Androidhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/vivaldi-releases-vivaldi-mobile-browser-for-android/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/vivaldi-releases-vivaldi-mobile-browser-for-android/#commentsMon, 09 Sep 2019 08:00:45 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154539Vivaldi Technologies released a first public version of the long awaited mobile version of the Vivaldi browser for Google's Android operating system today. The mobile version of the Vivaldi Browser is released […]

Vivaldi for Android

Vivaldi for Android displays the URL bar and the Vivaldi menu at the top, and another menu at the bottom. The bottom menu lists the open tabs, back and forward buttons, search/open new tab page, and bookmarks.

The browser's new tab page lists Speed Dial folder groups at the top and below that bookmarks or recently visited sites. The browser comes with a set of default speed dials on the page which you can remove using the bookmarks manager. You may add your own set of pages manually to the page as well.

Vivaldi for Android supports syncing. Sign-in with your Vivaldi account to sync data between all Vivaldi installations on any of your devices. New users may sign-up to create a free account and enable syncing in the process. Existing data is synced between desktop and mobile versions of the browser so that users may access their bookmarks, passwords and other data right away in the mobile version of Vivaldi.

Vivaldi for Android supports a number of search engines from the get-go. You may switch the default search engine in the Settings to Google, Qwant, Startpage, DuckDuckGo, Bing, or Ecosia among others, and may block access to locations, notifications, or sound for them right from the search engine preferences page. I could not find a way to add custom search engines to Vivaldi but the selection is better than that of Google Chrome.

Each search engine has a keyword associated with it that you may use to run searches on it from the address bar.

Settings

The settings provide a lot of options. Apart from managing passwords, sync, payment methods, addresses, and notifications, you may enable a light or dark theme, configure privacy settings, or site specific settings.

You can disable page predictions, access to payment methods, search and URL suggestions, and navigation error suggestions in the privacy settings. An option to clear the browsing data is provided there as well.

Performance

The browser is fast and robust, even as a beta version. I experienced no crashes during use and pages loaded quickly and without issues. The browser is based on Chromium just like the desktop version of the Vivaldi browser and many other browsers including Google Chrome.

Using Vivaldi for Android

Vivaldi works for the most part just like other Chromium-based mobile browsers. Run a search from the address bar or enter a URL directly to load the page.

The developers have added several nice to have features to the mobile browser that sets it apart. As far as tabs are concerned, you find a handy clone tab option attached to the main menu to quickly create copies of the open tab.

The tab switcher displays a visual representation of open tabs when you activate it. Activate any to jump to the tab or manage tabs from there. Options include closing open tabs quickly, manage private tabs, or display tabs open on another device for quick access.

The new Vivaldi browser supports a number of handy tools. Select Menu > Capture Page to take a screenshot of the activate page -- full page and visible area screenshots are supported. Screenshots are saved to the local system automatically once you give Vivaldi permission to do so.

Note taking is built-in as well. Open the Bookmarks and select Notes to get started. If you have enabled sync you will find all your existing notes in the interface. Tap on the new note icon to write a new note.

Access to notes is a bit hidden as you may only access it in the bookmarks. An option to access notes from the main menu or new tab page would certainly be appreciated by many users.

Vivaldi supports Reading Mode, a special display mode for websites that puts the focus solely on articles and news by removing clutter from webpages.

Closing Words

The release of Vivaldi for Android is a major step for Vivaldi Technologies. Vivaldi users with Android devices may download and use the browser, and sync data between mobile versions and desktop version. A tablet UI is in the works and will be released in the future.

The beta version of Vivaldi for Android worked well during tests. I wish the developers would add more distinguishing factors to the browser but considering that it is a beta release, it is off to a good start.

Now You: Which mobile browser do you use? Have you tried Vivaldi for Android?

]]>Clean Space is a free (and professional) software program for Microsoft's Windows operating system to remove temporary storage from the computer's hard disks.

The application works similarly to other PC cleaners such as CCleaner, Bleachbit, or the built-in disk cleanup tool of the Windows operating system. These programs are designed to free up disk space but not to improve system performance (except for a few edge cases if disk space is really low).

Clean Space comes with a set of locations and programs that it supports out of the box; it will run a scan of the system to detect temporary storage that can be removed from the system to free up disk space.

Clean Space is compatible with all client versions of the Windows operating system starting with Windows XP. I tested the program on a system running Windows 10 version 1809. The program requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 or higher.

Clean Space first look

The program installed fine on the test system; it tried to connect to company servers to check for updates but does not require registration.

Clean Space starts the scan of the system right on start. It detects if a program is running and suggests to close it as it may not be able to access certain files or folders while the program runs. You can enable auto-close to have it closed automatically in the future or skip it instead.

The scan is just a dry run as nothing will get deleted. Clean Space computes the total number of bytes that you can free up if you run the clean-up operation right away.

Note: anything that is tagged with Pro is reserved and not available in the free version.

I suggest you click on Settings first to make a few modifications before you run any operations.

The settings of the application list several interesting features. You can have it create system restore points automatically before clean-up operations, enable the secure deletion feature to prevent file recovery using recovery software, add cookies to the "keep" listing to prevent them from being deleted, or blacklist certain programs to prevent them from being scanned by the application.

A click on details in the main interface displays the scanned programs and locations, and the storage space that you can free for each.

The list is quite long and divides entries into groups. The Windows 10 entry alone has a good 30 or so entries, browsers have more than 10 entries, and even CCleaner is on that list.

Tip: click on any listing in the sidebar to jump straight to it.

A click on the trashcan icon next to an entry deletes that particular item only, e.g. the list of recently used elements in Windows, Firefox program crash reports, or Chrome's media cache. You may delete all entries of the selected program or location at once as well with a click on the attached link. There is also an option to recalculate that particular program or location.

Closing Words

Clean Space is a well designed system cleaner for Windows that supports a good range of programs and Windows locations and features. The scan on program start takes a few seconds to complete but that is to be expected considering that it scans quite a few locations on the system.

The details page has a messy feel to it; an option to search results, just display the main groups by default, or sort them based on storage size could be useful to bring some order into the page. The program lacks options to extend the cleaning by adding custom locations.

All in all, Clean Space is a well designed program for Windows that works well as an alternative to established system cleaners for the operating system.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/09/first-look-at-the-windows-disk-cleaner-clean-space/feed/21Latest Steam experiment aims to improve Search on the platformhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/08/latest-steam-experiment-aims-to-improve-search-on-the-platform/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/08/latest-steam-experiment-aims-to-improve-search-on-the-platform/#commentsSun, 08 Sep 2019 07:30:35 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154527Valve unlocked a new experiment on its Steam platform with the aim to improve search functionality on the gaming platform. The company launched Steam Labs in July 2019 on Steam to give […]

Valve Software launched three experiments in July that added micro trailers, interactive recommendations, and an automatic daily show that highlights new and popular games to users.

The latest experiment is designed to improve Search on Steam. Steam's search has never been that good; while it supported some filters, e.g. by tag, number of players, or platform, it lacked basic filter options such as price. Search results can be sorted by price but that would change the order of results in the process.

The launch of the Epic Games Store in 2018 introduced a new tough digital PC sales competitor and it is likely that the launch played a role in Valve's recent attempts to improve the Steam client and platform in several ways.

Steam Search experiment

The new Search experience is not all that different from the old. In fact, when you launch it you may have difficulties finding lots of changes.

The most visible change is the new price filter; it is a slider that you may use to narrow down results by price, e.g. to only display search results that cost less than $50. There is also an option to filter by free so that only games that are free to play are returned. A checkbox attached to the price filter module named special offers returns only deals when checked.

Tags list the number of titles next to them in the new interface. The old search interface does not list any numbers and it is often not clear how popular a particular tag is on Steam, especially if a less popular tag is picked. Steam lists tags by number. The numbers provide insight on how popular certain genres are. The indie tag has more than 40,000 titles associated with it, action 27,000, and strategy 14,000.

Not all tags are listed with numbers next to them. When you search for a tag, only some tags may be listed with numbers. It is probably a bug though as you get the numbers of the other tags returned to you when you select the major tag as these may also be listed on the results page.

A search for strategy returns the 14k results figure only for the main term but nothing for turn-based strategy, grand strategy, or strategy rpg. When you check strategy however, you will see that there are 2043 turn-based strategy games listed on Steam currently as the number is returned on the results page.

The results listing uses endless scrolling in the new interface. The older layout separated results by page. Endless scrolling does away with the page flipping but it may lead to issues such as a lack of bookmarking a certain page to continue browsing results at a later point in time or having to restart at the very beginning when you experience issues.

Closing Words

Search is definitely an area that Valve needs to work on as it is in dire need of improvement. The new options are a step in the right direction, especially the new price selector is handy. I wish the slider would support the selection of minimum and maximum and not only maximum.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/08/latest-steam-experiment-aims-to-improve-search-on-the-platform/feed/2Mozilla plans to roll out DNS over HTTPS to US users in late September 2019https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/07/mozilla-plans-to-roll-out-dns-over-https-to-us-users-in-late-september-2019/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/07/mozilla-plans-to-roll-out-dns-over-https-to-us-users-in-late-september-2019/#commentsSat, 07 Sep 2019 15:55:40 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154521Starting in late September 2019, DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is going to be rolled out to Firefox users in the United States. DNS over HTTPS encrypts DNS requests to improve security and […]

]]>Starting in late September 2019, DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is going to be rolled out to Firefox users in the United States.

DNS over HTTPS encrypts DNS requests to improve security and privacy of these requests. Most DNS requests happen in the open currently; anyone listening to the traffic gets records of site and IP addresses that were looked up while using an Internet connection among other things.

DoH encrypts the traffic and while that looks good on first glance, it needs to be noted that TLS still gives away the destination in plaintext.

One example: Internet providers may block certain DNS requests, e.g. when they have received a court order to block certain resources on the Internet. It is not the best method to prevent people from accessing a site on the Internet but it is used nevertheless.

Mozilla started to look into the implementation of DoH in Firefox in 2018. The organization ran a controversial Shield study in 2018 to gather data that it needed for the planned implementation of the feature. The study was controversial because Mozilla used the third-party Cloudflare as the DNS over HTTPS service which meant that all user traffic flowed through the Cloudflare network.

Mozilla revealed in April 2019 that its plan to enable DoH in Firefox had not changed. The organization created a list of policies that DoH providers had to conform to if they wanted their service to be integrated in Firefox.

In "What's next in making encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS the Default", Mozilla confirmed that it would begin to enable DoH in Firefox starting in late September 2019. The feature will be enabled for some users from the United States and Mozilla plans to monitor the implementation before DoH is rolled out to a larger part of the user base and eventually all users from the United States.

We plan to gradually roll out DoH in the USA starting in late September. Our plan is to start slowly enabling DoH for a small percentage of users while monitoring for any issues before enabling for a larger audience. If this goes well, we will let you know when we’re ready for 100% deployment.

While DNS over HTTPS will be the default for the majority of Firefox installations in the United States, it won't be enabled for some configurations:

If parental controls are used, DoH won't be enabled provided that Mozilla detects the use correctly.

Enterprise configurations are respected as well and DoH is disabled unless "explicitly enabled by enterprise configuration".

Network administrations may configure their networks in the following way to highlight to Firefox that the network is unsuitable for DoH usage:

DNS queries for the A and AAAA records for the domain “use-application-dns.net” must respond with NXDOMAIN rather than the IP address retrieved from the authoritative nameserver.

How to block DNS over HTTPS

You have two options when it comes to DoH in Firefox. You can change the default provider -- Cloudflare is the default -- to another provider (for whatever reason) or block the entire feature so that it won't be used.

If you don't want to use it, set the value of network.trr.mode to 5 on about:config.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/07/mozilla-plans-to-roll-out-dns-over-https-to-us-users-in-late-september-2019/feed/73Draw.io is a free Flowchart and diagram creation software for Windows, Linux, macOS and your browserhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/07/draw-io-free-flowchart-creation-software-windows-linux-macos/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/07/draw-io-free-flowchart-creation-software-windows-linux-macos/#commentsSat, 07 Sep 2019 06:06:05 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154501Flowcharts are incredibly useful diagrams to explain process flows. Remember the phishing flow chart that Martin created in 2011? Or the flowchart about flowcharts? If you took a computer science class in […]

If you took a computer science class in school or college, you may know how to make one. Even if you don't, it's not difficult to learn how to create flowcharts.

But how do you make them using a computer? Microsoft Office or Libre Office can be used to create flowcharts. But an application like Draw.io that specializes in drawing diagrams can be a better option. I tested the offline version of draw.io, (and only tested it with flowcharts).

You need to visit the website and select Help > Download draw.io Desktop to download the offline application. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux systems. You may also use the online version as it offers similar functionality and may be better if you just want to create a quick chart.

Draw.io flowcharts

Draw.io has a clean interface with a menu bar on the top, a symbol toolbar on the left, a canvas on the right and a format panel on the right. To get started click on the “Flowcharts” option on the left to access the shapes that you need. Use the search bar to find a specific shape quickly.

Adding a symbol in Draw.io is as easy as clicking on it. You can resize the shapes by dragging on the circles that appear, when a shape is selected. To move it, either use the mouse or the arrow keys.

Speaking of arrows, you can add a directional flow arrow in 2 ways, either by selecting an arrow icon from the toolbar, or by deselecting a shape hovering over it and dragging the arrow icon which appears. The latter is the more refined option of the two. You can pull the connecting arrow to a different direction and angle and even create a directional flow which is bent by 90°. To connect two shapes select them both and use shift + click; it saves you a lot of time.

Tip: Use Control + mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Mouse over a shape to clone it and connect it with the new one so you don't have to redraw it. You can customize the layout of the page, enable an outline, use layers and a lot more.

The grid is enabled by default but you can disable it if you want to. Personally, I prefer the grid lines because they ensure the symbols are lined correctly and of the same size. I’m no expert but the program felt very user-friendly to me. You can check out the documentation for more tips and tricks.

Cross-platform availability and web-app (no registration required)

Draw.io is a cross-platform application which is available as an offline client for Windows, Linux, macOS, ChromeOS, as an add-on for Google Docs, Google Slides, as a stand-alone web-app, or integrates directly with your Dropbox, GitHubm GitLab Google Drive, OneDrive, Office 365 account.

You can use Draw.io to export the flowcharts in several formats including PNG, JPEG, SVG, PDF, VSDX, HTML, XML. You can even use the URL option to create a shareable link that you can send to your friends/colleagues. You don't need to register for an account or login to any service for this (or for using the web-app). You can optionally allow other users to edit the created flowchart.

Did I mention that Draw.io is open source?

Here is a (sample shareable URL) basic flowchart which I made using Draw.io which you can view in your browser. Yes, I know it’s terrible, like I said I'm no expert. But hey, my point is if you want a free flowchart software, Draw.io is a great option.

Besides, flowcharts aren't exclusively used by programmers. Many businesses use them in meetings to explain a process flow. You can even use them to help with personal goals, even non-ending (recurring) ones. So use them as you want to. Dia and yEd (requires Java) can be good alternatives for Draw.io. And if you need something to represent ideas of concepts, you may want to check out mindmapping programs like Freeplane instead.

]]>Firefox users who open the official Firefox Add-ons repository may notice a new warning message displayed on most extension pages.

The warning reads: "This extension isn't monitored by Mozilla. Make sure you trust the extension before you install it". A read more link points to a support page that explains the concept behind the Recommended Extensions program.

The warnings were not displayed before on Mozilla AMO, the name of the add-ons repository, and you may wonder why the warnings are displayed right now.

Extensions and their developers had to meet a number of criteria including that extensions needed to be safe and relevant, that the developer was committed to the extension, and that they needed to be "really good" at what they offered.

Due to the curated nature of Recommended extensions, each extension undergoes a thorough technical security review to ensure it adheres to Mozilla’s add-on policies.

Additionally, extensions would would be carefully monitored by Mozilla. Unlike the rest of the extensions, Mozilla would analyze the code of each of the extensions and of any update before allowing it to become available to users of the browser. The process is not all that different from the process that Mozilla used several years ago sans the promotional effects. The organization used to verify each extension before as well but switched to an automated system since then with manual checks after extension availability.

Recommended Extensions have a higher level of trust associated with them because of the extra vetting.

The yellow warnings are displayed for any extension on the Firefox Add-ons website that is not recommended by Mozilla. While it may make sense on first glance to inform users that an extension is not monitored, it seems likely that at least some users will be put off by the warning.

Extension installations may suffer because of that and it is likely that extension developers are not happy because of that. The warning is displayed on pages of very popular long-standing Firefox extensions such as Tampermonkey, User-Agent Switcher, Adblock Plus (the extension with the most installs by far), or Avast Online Security. Even some of Mozilla's own extensions, e.g. Easy Screenshot by Mozilla Online, Firefox Lightbeam, or Notes by Firefox, are listed with the warning.

Firefox Multi-Account Containers is not recommended but one of the few exceptions to the rule as the warning is not displayed for that extension.

Closing Words

Mozilla is right when it states that a particular extension is not monitored by the organization. That's not really the fault of the extension developer on the other hand. Then there is the question of finding out if an extension is trustworthy. Mozilla provides no guidance or information on that, and most Firefox users can't analyze the code of extensions to verify that the extension is trustworthy. And even if they could, the analysis would not include any of the updates that may be pushed out by the developer.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/firefox-add-ons-warning-this-extension-isnt-monitored-by-mozilla/feed/39How to change the default search engine in Microsoft Edge (Chromium)https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/how-to-change-the-default-search-engine-in-microsoft-edge-chromium/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/how-to-change-the-default-search-engine-in-microsoft-edge-chromium/#commentsFri, 06 Sep 2019 12:59:26 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154496It should not come as a surprise that the default search engine of Microsoft Edge -- regardless of whether it is the classic version or new Chromium version -- is Microsoft's Bing […]

]]>It should not come as a surprise that the default search engine of Microsoft Edge -- regardless of whether it is the classic version or new Chromium version -- is Microsoft's Bing search engine.

Some people prefer Bing over Google and other search engines and that is perfectly fine; others may prefer to use a different search engine for their searches.

I never found Bing to be very good when it came to non-English queries as it seemed heavily focused on English regions and search results. If you are in the same boat, you may want to change the search engine to use it when you run searches from the address bar.

I suppose it is also possible to visit the search engine manually instead each time and run searches from the search engine's website, but that is not the most comfortable of options.

Change search engine in Microsoft Edge Chromium

Click on the menu next to "search engine used in the address bar" to switch the search engine from Bing to another search engine. The new search engine is used from that moment on whenever you run searches.

Edge lists five different search engines there only, and one of the is YouTube. You can switch to Google, DuckDuckGo or Yahoo but that is about it; not the greatest of selections but it may be sufficient if your preferred search engine is on that list.

Select the three dots next to the search engine that you want to make the default in Microsoft Edge and pick "make default" from the menu.

That is all there is to it.

Some search engines may not be added automatically. If that is the case, you may use the second option to add them.

Option 2: Add the search engine manually

Select Manage search engines on the same page.

Click on the Add button to add a new search engine to the list. You are asked to fill out the following three fields:

Search Engine -- Pick a name to identify the search engine.

Keyword -- Optional, may be used to run searches on that search engine if it is not the default.

URL -- The search URL that uses the variable %s in place of the query.

Click on Add to add the search engine.

To get the URL, run a search for TEST or another term that is easily identifiable in the URL. Copy the full results URL into the URL field in Microsoft Edge and replace the search term with %s.

On Startpage, you get a search results URL such as https://www.startpage.com/do/search?lui=english&language=english&cat=web&query=TEST&nj=&anticache=502855 when you run such a search. Simply replace TEST with %s and you are done. You may also remove the parameters to streamline the URL so that you may end up with https://www.startpage.com/do/search?query=%s.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/how-to-change-the-default-search-engine-in-microsoft-edge-chromium/feed/6Microsoft releases first preview of PowerToys for Windows 10https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/microsoft-releases-first-preview-of-powertoys-for-windows-10/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/microsoft-releases-first-preview-of-powertoys-for-windows-10/#commentsFri, 06 Sep 2019 06:22:27 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154491The first public release of PowerToys is now available for download featuring the two utilities FanzyZones and Shortcuts Guide. Microsoft revealed in May 2019 that it wanted to revive PowerToys and make […]

]]>The first public release of PowerToys is now available for download featuring the two utilities FanzyZones and Shortcuts Guide. Microsoft revealed in May 2019 that it wanted to revive PowerToys and make it open source in the process.

Veteran Windows users may remember PowerToys from the Windows 95 and Windows XP days; these lightweight tools introduced new features and options to the Windows systems: from adding virtual desktops and viewing Cab files to an advanced graphical calculator, resolution changer, and clock on the desktop.

The initial preview release of PowerToys features the two utilities FancyZones and Windows key shortcut guide.

Installation is straightforward. Download the PowerToys installer from the official project page on GitHub and execute it after the download. You may want to disable the autostart of the PowerToys during logon unless you plan to use them extensively.

An icon is placed in the system tray area when you launch PowerToys after installation. A click on it opens the settings which you may use to enable or disable individual utilities. If you only want to use FanzyZones, you could disable Shortcut Guide.

Each listed tool has an overview and video link attached to it. The links open pages on the project's GitHub site.

You may use both tools right away. A click on FanzyZones or Shortcut Guide in the interface displays how that is done as well as configuration options.

FanzyZones

FanzyZones is a window layouts tools that you may use to create zones on the desktop for window placement. The tool comes with five templates to choose from and an option to create custom templates.

The columns template divides the screen into three columns and if you hold down the Shift-key while moving a window, you will see these columns and may place the window in any of these. The window is then resized automatically once you let go of the mouse button.

You may create custom layouts from scratch but the process is not as straightforward as you would imagine. You need to create the zones individually by moving them around and resizing them; an option to create them on a grid instead would certainly optimize the process. Third-party programs like WindowGrid handle this better in my opinion.

FanzyZones comes with a handful of extra options. You may have it override the default Windows-Arrow hotkeys to place and resize windows automatically on the system. If you do, using the shortcut will move the windows between zones.

Other options include keeping windows in their zones when the screen resolution changes and to keep them when the FanzyZones layout changes.

Shortcut Guide

Shortcuts Guide displays available shortcuts when you hold down the Windows-key for 900 milliseconds. You can change the time to another value in the settings.

The guide launches a fullscreen interface that highlights the available shortcuts. Tech savvy users may be aware of most of these shortcuts already but it may be useful to users who never really used shortcuts before.

Closing Words

Microsoft plans to release additional tools in the future. Four of them are highlighted on the project page currently:

Batch file renamer

Animated gif screen recorder

Process termination tool.

Maximize to new desktop widget.

All tools are open source. Microsoft lists Windows 10 version 1803 as the minimum version to build and run PowerToys.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/microsoft-releases-first-preview-of-powertoys-for-windows-10/feed/9Surprise, Microsoft changed Windows Update behavior for the better in Windows 10 1903https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/surprise-microsoft-changed-windows-update-behavior-for-the-better-in-windows-10-1903/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/surprise-microsoft-changed-windows-update-behavior-for-the-better-in-windows-10-1903/#commentsFri, 06 Sep 2019 05:16:11 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154488Since the release of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system in 2015, updating and patching was at the heart of criticism that administrators and power users leveled at Microsoft. It was not the […]

]]>Since the release of Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system in 2015, updating and patching was at the heart of criticism that administrators and power users leveled at Microsoft. It was not the only argument brought forth against Windows 10, Telemetry being another, but it was a major one.

A lack of control over updates and quality issues caused quite some havoc since then. Microsoft pushes out cumulative updates once a month on the second Tuesday of the month. The company releases a second cumulative update that acts as a preview of things to come in the same month.

While Windows 10 featured options to delay updates, it did so in a convoluted messy way that depended on the edition and version of Windows 10. It did not really help that Microsoft changed updating throughout the years; and all of that was confirmed in a study recently.

The focus on cumulative updates meant additionally that administrators could no longer install updates selectively, it was an all or nothing approach. Microsoft released special security-only updates for Windows 7 and 8.1 but not for Windows 10.

Imagine the following scenario: you click on the check for updates button in an earlier version of Windows 10. You might get:

A preview update that is installed automatically on the system.

An update to a new feature version of Windows 10 that is installed automatically.

The release of Windows 10 version 1903 changed that, and this time for the better. While there is still room for improvement, it appears that preview releases of cumulative updates and new feature updates are not getting installed automatically anymore when you hit the check for updates button.

Instead, they are listed under "optional updates available" on Windows Updates. Means: you may use the button again to run a manual check for updates without the fear of pushing an unstable update or a new feature update to the system.

Updates cannot be avoided indefinitely with built-in options. Microsoft will push updates to versions of Windows 10 that are about to run out of support, and cumulative updates can only be delayed for a certain period either.

Closing Words

I still think that there is lots of room for improvement. I'd like to see an option that lists all available updates so that I may pick the ones that I want installed on the system. That's wishful thinking but exactly how third-party updating tools like Windows Update Minitool or Sledgehammer operate.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/06/surprise-microsoft-changed-windows-update-behavior-for-the-better-in-windows-10-1903/feed/35Eyes Alarm is a nice take-a-break add-on for Firefox and Chromehttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/eyes-alarm-add-on-for-firefox-and-chrome/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/eyes-alarm-add-on-for-firefox-and-chrome/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2019 17:06:35 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154477We discuss many Firefox add-ons and Chrome extensions here on gHacks, but the majority of those are either related to security or productivity. Today we take a look at a different category: […]

]]>We discuss many Firefox add-ons and Chrome extensions here on gHacks, but the majority of those are either related to security or productivity. Today we take a look at a different category: health.

More specifically, eye care. A lot of users work in front of a computer for long hours every day and unless precautions are taken to take enough breaks, it can lead to health issues.

Try to observe (or ask someone) how often you blink naturally, you may be surprised by the result. This is a result of too much time spent staring at a monitor. To counter this, you should look away from the screen from time to time as it relaxes the eyes and helps prevent the issue.

Tip: we reviewed several programs for Windows that assist you in taking breaks and prevent eye strain. To name just a few: Eye Guardian, Eyecare, and Eyes Relax.

Eye Alarm

Eyes Alarm is an add-on for Firefox and Chrome that can help you with this.

You can also use it as a break reminder to stretch your legs or maybe get a glass of water to drink. It's very user-friendly and has a few options that you can customize. When it is time for you to take a break, the add-on will display a notification on your desktop that informs you about it.

Coming to the add-on’s UI, Eyes Alarm adds a clock icon to the toolbar that you may click on to display a pop-up menu. It has a timer (explained below), a reset switch and a gear icon. The reset switch can be used to restart the timer and the gear icon lets you access Eyes Alarm's settings.

By default, Eyes Alarm reminds you to take a break once every 50 minutes. That's what the "timer" is for, it displays the time that has passed since the previous break. You can set it to as low as 1 minute or as high as 180 minutes.

Next you have the break timer which is set to 10 minutes. And just like the reminder timer, this too can be configured from 1 to 120 minutes. There is an option to change the notification title which reads “Time to break” by default but you can set it to anything you want to.

You can also modify the notification content. The default line is “How about a cup of tea?”. This feature allows you to use the add-on for reminders for things to do (on a short-time basis) as well. I don't think it is a good idea to use it for medical purposes like taking pills.

Note: Once the break timer runs out, it starts the alarm timer automatically.

What if you miss the notification though? Eyes Alarm has an optional notification sound setting which is disabled by default. It allows you to set a custom volume level for the sound. As for the sound itself, it does ship with one (a gentle bell chime). You can use custom sounds too by pasting a URL into the field.

I tried setting it to use a different local audio but it didn’t work for me in Firefox or Chrome (Microsoft Edge Chromium Beta). What did work was setting a direct URL to an mp3 audio file.

One issue which I was concerned about was the "access your data for all websites". The developer's note at the add-on's page state that permission is required as you can put in any path for custom sounds. That does make sense but these global permissions are still nerve wrecking in my opinion.

Note: Modifying any of the settings restarts the alarm timer even if you didn’t alter the timer’s settings.

Closing Words

Eyes Alarm is an open source project; you can find the source code on GitHub. Apart from the odd grammatical error or two, the add-on is quite good. You can also use programs like F.lux or Lightbulb to reduce eye strain in all applications and not just your browser. These programs are not break reminders though but they change the light of the computer screen instead.

The courses include quizzes, student worksheets and practice exams that mimic the actual certification exams. Courses are designed for users of all experience levels and certification of completion is included. The bundle is available for just $14.99 currently.

You find hundreds of other deals with new deals posted daily on Ghacks Deals.

Fine print: make sure that you check out the specs and terms of the deal.

Disclosure: The deal is provided by StackCommerce in partnership with Ghacks Technology News; you need a StackCommerce account to participate in giveaways or make purchases. Check out the privacy policy and Terms of Service here.

Ghacks Technology News benefits from sales made on the Ghacks Deals website through a revenue share agreement. All revenue goes towards the running costs.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/ghacks-deals-microsoft-network-security-fundamentals-certification-bundle-85-off/feed/0My Experience with the mobile version of Brave on Androidhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/my-experience-with-the-mobile-version-of-brave-on-android/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/my-experience-with-the-mobile-version-of-brave-on-android/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2019 12:01:13 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154468I don't use Google Chrome on Android; while the browser offers good compatibility and performance, its lack of support for extensions and thus content-blocking is what puts me off. I don't mind […]

]]>I don't use Google Chrome on Android; while the browser offers good compatibility and performance, its lack of support for extensions and thus content-blocking is what puts me off. I don't mind advertisement on sites provided that the ads are not intrusive or annoying; I tend to allow ads on sites that I value as I don't want these sites to go away because of a lack of funding.

Brave is a controversial browser; there is one side that likes Brave's attempt at solving the current advertisement, privacy, and monetization crisis on the Internet. Criticism centers around Brave's ad replacement plans and it is leveled at the browser not only from Internet publications that rely on advertising revenue but also users who believe that they trade the classic advertising model for just another.

I'm a light user when it comes to mobiles and mobile browsing. I use mobile browsers for the occasional lookup and search, but that is about it.

Brave on Android

Brave can be downloaded from Google Play. The browser has a 4.3 out of 5 rating on Google Play based on about 112k ratings. For comparison, Firefox Mobile has a rating of 4.4 based on 3.27 million votes, Opera a rating of 4.6 based on 2.91 million votes, and Chrome a rating of 4.3 based on 16.36 million votes. The other browsers have been around for longer.

The browser is based on Chromium which means that it uses the same core as Google Chrome. Web compatibility support and performance is excellent because of that.

Brave for Android comes with an integrated advertisement blocker that works similarly to the implementation in Brave for the desktop. The Shields feature is enabled by default and it blocks ads, tracking, and third-party cookies by default on all sites that you visit. You can increase the protection further by enabling script blocking and fingerprint protection.

The ad-blocking works fine on most sites; you may notice that some ads are still displayed but these are usually not of the annoying kind. You could enable script blocking on sites that still display advertisement as this should take care of these ad units as well but it may impact site functionality as well. The script blocking functionality does not provide options to allow or block specific scripts.

Protections can be enabled or disabled globally, and for individual sites. You find those options and others under Privacy in the settings. I have changed some options in Brave.

I changed the default search engine of the browser. It was set to Qwant which never really worked that well for my German queries. I switched to Startpage which is my default search engine on the desktop. Brave picks up search engines as you visit sites so that it should not be a problem selecting another search engine. You may set different search engines for standard and private tabs in the Settings.

A Welcome Tour includes options to pick a search engine from the default selection of search providers.

The browser remembers passwords, payment methods, and addresses by default; all of these options can be turned off. Note that you cannot install extensions in Brave for Android; the installation of password managers is not supported because of that.

Brave displays a bottom toolbar by default and an URLbar at the top. You can disable the bottom toolbar to move its elements to the top, and switch between the default light and dark themes either automatically or pick one manually.

Brave's settings include a couple of surprises that may be overlooked. The browser has an option to enable background video playback, manage notifications for the Browser and visited sites, enable syncing between other Brave versions, and change the scaling of text to force larger or smaller text sizes on all sites.

HTTPS Everywhere is integrated in Brave for Android. The default new tab page lists the number of HTTPS upgrades, ads and trackers that the browser blocked, and the estimated time it saved you.

Brave Rewards

Brave Rewards is integrated in the browser. It is an optional feature that you don't need to enable. Basically, what it allows you to do is earn tokens by viewing ads that Brave provides.

These ads are based on interests inferred from browsing behavior that never leaves the browser according to Brave. You earn BAT currency and may spend it currently using the auto-contribute feature or tips feature.

Later on, you will be able to turn the virtual currency into money if you want, but for now, you may support sites that you like or tip people directly.

My Experience

The blocking of ads sets Brave apart from Google Chrome. Blocking means that pages load faster, that privacy is better, and that you will save battery in the process as well. Brave is not the only browser on Android that supports ad-blocking though.

Opera supports it too, and Firefox users may install extensions to block ads on mobile. In fact, Firefox is one of the few browsers that supports extensions on mobile right now. Whether that is going to change when the switch to the new Firefox for Mobile is made remains to be seen.

Browsing works really well on Brave for Android and while I wish that the browser would offer more granular controls for its content blocking and script blocking functionality, it is probably not a feature that is suitable for the masses.

All in all, I have to say that I like Brave a lot better than Google Chrome on Android. It has all the advantages but fewer disadvantages than Chrome.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/my-experience-with-the-mobile-version-of-brave-on-android/feed/35A look at Open Shell (Classic Shell fork)https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/a-look-at-open-shell-classic-shell-fork/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/a-look-at-open-shell-classic-shell-fork/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2019 07:17:32 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154453Open Shell is a fork of the popular discontinued Classic Shell program for Windows that may restore a classic Start Menu, Explorer and Internet Explorer shell on the system. Classic Shell was […]

The lead developer of Classic Shell announced in 2017 that he would quit development. He decided to publish the source code of the program to give other developers the chance to fork the program and continue development.

One of the first forks was called Classic Start. The first version of Classic Start was released in June 2018 and a first development released followed in the same month. The program was renamed to Open Shell in September 2018 when a first stable version was released.

The project is not dead as work on Nightly versions continues. Users may download and install these Nightly versions which are linked on the main GitHub page; it is not recommended to install these on production machines because though.

I downloaded the latest release version of Open Shell, version 4.4.131, and installed it on a system running the latest Windows 10 20H1 Insider build. Installation went through without issues. The classic Start Menu was restored after installation and most features worked just fine during the test.

I was able to change the Start Menu layout and make modifications to it. Some features did not work properly in that version, however. I was not able to change the taskbar design nor disable breadcrumbs in File Explorer.

One reason that the original developer of the program gave for quitting the project after all those years was that the Windows 10 update interval was too high. Granted, running Classic Shell on an Insider version of Windows 10 that won't be out for another six or so months is not entirely fair.

I decided to run it on a recent Windows 10 version 1903 build to find out whether it would have less bugs. The issues that I experienced on the Windows 10 20H1 machine were experienced on the Windows 10 version 1903 PC as well.

Considering that the latest stable version of Open Shell was released before Microsoft released Windows 10 version 1903, it did not come as a surprise that the issues were experienced in that version as well.

I downloaded the Nightly version of Open Shell to find out if the issues were resolved in that version; this was not the case unfortunately.

Closing Words

Open Shell suffers from Microsoft's fast paced development and the changes that the company makes to new versions of Windows 10. If you run earlier versions of Windows, you won't notice these issues or bugs.

Users who run Windows 10 can still use Open Shell to restore a classic Start Menu and use most of the functionality that it provides. Bugs should be expected, however.

Now You: do you use Classic Shell / Open Shell or another program to restore classic functionality?

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/a-look-at-open-shell-classic-shell-fork/feed/42LyricsReloaded is a plugin for Musicbee that adds a lot of lyrics sourceshttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/lyricsreloaded-plugin-for-musicbee/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/lyricsreloaded-plugin-for-musicbee/#commentsThu, 05 Sep 2019 04:48:51 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154427Musicbee and Foobar2000 are -- in my opinion -- the best music players available for Windows. But if there is one issue with the former, I'd say it is the built-in lyrics […]

]]>Musicbee and Foobar2000 are -- in my opinion -- the best music players available for Windows. But if there is one issue with the former, I'd say it is the built-in lyrics downloader which is sort of a hit-or-miss, at least for me.

I have all my songs properly tagged (year, track, album, artist, genre, cover art), but I still get the "No lyrics found" from time to time. Fortunately there is a simple fix for this and it comes in the form of the MusicBee plugin LyricsReloaded.

Tip: you could also consider adding lyrics to the music files natively using programs such as Lyrics Finder.

It isn't actually a new plugin and you may be using it already. The plugin was abandoned for a while before it was resurrected last year. The new maintainer has added a lot of additional lyrics providers based on feedback from the community, and it works beautifully because of that. So, here's how to get it working.

In case you don't know how to install plugins in the music player, here's a brief tutorial.

How to install a plugin in Musicbee

Click on Edit > Preferences.

Select "Plugins" (last option in the sidebar).

Click on "Add Plugin" in the right pane (top).

Navigate to the folder where your plugin is located. It should start with the name "mb_" and can be in DLL or ZIP format.

Choose the plugin.

Click on Apply and Save.

Follow the above steps to install the LyricsReloaded plugin.

How to enable additional lyrics sources in Musicbee

Assuming you are still in the Preferences window, head over to the "Preferences > Tags(2)" tab.

There is an Auto-tagging section under which you will see an option called "Lyrics".

Click on the three dot-menu next to it.

A pop-up window titled "Lyrics Providers" should appear. It has a list of all available lyrics sources.

Toggle the checkbox next to the ones that you want. You may need to experiment to find the ones that work best for you.

Hit the Update button, and close the Preferences window.

That's it, Musicbee will now use all the enabled lyrics sources to search for missing lyrics and display them in the Now Playing tab.

Now, if you return to the song that you were listening to you may need to search for the lyrics again. Just right-click on the lyrics panel and hit "Redo search". You may have to re-search once or twice for it to work.

You can add custom lyrics sources in Musicbee if you know how to write a YML document. It should be saved in the mb_LyricsReloaded\providers folder. Here are some YML files from the plugin's source which you can use as a template.

Closing Words

LyricsReloaded is an open-source project hosted on GitHub. The plugin's development can be followed on the Musicbee forums.

If you still can't find lyrics for a song, you may need to edit the tags and check for typos. The same applies in case of wrong (mismatched lyrics), maybe there is more than 1 song with a particular title in which case you need to make sure the artist name is correct as well. There is also the chance that you are listening to music that has not been added to any of the lyrics databases.

LyricsReloaded is one of the reasons why I slightly prefer Musicbee over Foobar2000.

Now you: What is your favorite music player and plugin for that player?

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/05/lyricsreloaded-plugin-for-musicbee/feed/9Time to check Face Recognition settings on Facebookhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/time-to-check-face-recognition-settings-on-facebook/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/time-to-check-face-recognition-settings-on-facebook/#commentsWed, 04 Sep 2019 12:14:08 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154419Facebook announced the global roll out of the Face Recognition setting for new users and existing users who had access to the tag suggestions feature today. The company launched a feature called […]

]]>Facebook announced the global roll out of the Face Recognition setting for new users and existing users who had access to the tag suggestions feature today.

The company launched a feature called tag suggestions years ago that was enabled for a subset of Facebook users only. The feature determined whether face recognition technology was used by Facebook to identify users on uploaded photos. The feature limited suggestions to friends of the user who uploaded the feature. In other words: it only provided identification on the photo if it identified a contact of the user; strangers were not suggested by the tool.

Facebook introduced Face Recognition in December 2017 to some people on the site. Face Recognition can best be described as a broader facial recognition feature as it would not only apply to tag suggestions but also other features on Facebook.

Facebook rolls out information to users who previously had access to tag suggestions on the site and all new users. The company wants to inform users about the Face Recognition feature. Facebook users will see a notice in the News Feed starting today that "will include information about the new features", how Facebook uses the technology, and a button to turn the feature on or keep it off. The default status is off according to Facebook and users need to become active to turn it on.

If Face Recognition is off, Facebook won't use the feature to identify the user or to suggest tags. Additionally, features such as Photo Review which rely on the functionality will not be activated either. Facebook notes that people will still be able to tag friends manually.

Face Recognition turned on?

I did not receive a notification on Facebook and decided to verify whether Face Recognition was available and what the service's status was. Turns out, the feature was turned on for the account. While I cannot say with absolute certainty that I never enabled the feature, I cannot remember doing so.

Since you may be in the same boat, here is how you check the setting and turn it off if you don't want it used on Facebook:

Load https://www.facebook.com/settings?tab=facerec in the browser's address bar. Note that you may be asked to sign in to your Facebook account if you are not signed in.

Alternatively, click on the menu icon, select Settings and there on the Settings page the Face Recognition option in the sidebar.

If the page under 1) does not load or if you don't see the Face Recognition setting in the sidebar, the feature appears to be not available for your account at the time.

Check the status of the feature if it is available. If it says Yes, Face Recognition is enabled.

Click on the Edit button to modify the status.

Just select No from the menu and then Close to change the status to no so that the feature is not used anymore. You may also enable it if it is disabled and you prefer it on.

Verify the status on the main page. If it is set to No, Face Recognition and features that depend on it are not enabled anymore.

Facebook says that its facial recognition tech is put to good use on the site. Besides the aforementioned identification of friends of photos, it may also be used to help visually impaired users and for security purposes on the site.

Now You: Do you allow or block facial recognition tech if the option is available?

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/time-to-check-face-recognition-settings-on-facebook/feed/13Customize Do Not Disturb Schedules on Android 10https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/customize-do-not-disturb-schedules-on-android-10/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/customize-do-not-disturb-schedules-on-android-10/#commentsWed, 04 Sep 2019 07:46:49 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154412The new Android 10 is available already for select devices; my Google Pixel 3a received the update some hours ago and it went through without issues. One of the features that Google […]

]]>The new Android 10 is available already for select devices; my Google Pixel 3a received the update some hours ago and it went through without issues. One of the features that Google improved in Android 10 is Do Not Disturb.

Long-tap on the Do Not Disturb toggle to open the Settings on Android 10. The main page lists options to configure Do Not Disturb; you may set up rules for calls and messages, and allow or disallow certain events and actions such as the playing of media sounds from firing in that mode.

A tap on schedules displays custom presets, e.g. Sleeping or Event. You can create your own schedules with a tap on the option or configure the existing ones instead.

The feature is useful to Android users who use different Do Not Disturb schedules. Here is an example: you use one Do Not Disturb schedule at night to make sure that your sleep is not interrupted by someone's Facebook post, and another for when you are at work.

While you may prefer that some settings are shared across both Do Not Disturb schedules, you may want to use custom settings for others. You could switch the allow calls option from starred or none at all to contacts to make sure you get your boss' calls, or enable alarms, reminders, and events in the Work rules.

Each schedule uses the default Do Not Disturb behavior by default. The new Android 10 features allows you to change the defaults. In other words: schedules no longer share the behavior but may differ from one another in certain aspects.

Restrict notifications (no sound from notifications, no visuals or sound from notifications, custom).

Closing Words

How many Android users are aware of the fact that Do Not Disturb supports schedules? The new customization options may be useful to power users and users who need different notification settings for different times of the day, week, or other time periods.

The feature is easy to set up and since you may create as many schedules as you like, should provide users with more options in that regard.

VIPRE Advanced Security is a highly rated security solution for Windows and Mac OS X that protects devices against malware, ransomware, and other threats. The package includes a firewall and other protective features such as email security.

The application scored well in latest independent tests; AV-Test awarded it the Top Product label in its latest test, and AV Comparatives gave it the highest award in its latest real world protection test.

You can get a three-year subscription for $49 currently on Ghacks Deals. The offer is available to new users only and you may install the software on up to three devices. Note that it is available for Windows and Mac Os X.

You find hundreds of other deals with new deals posted daily on Ghacks Deals.

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Disclosure: The deal is provided by StackCommerce in partnership with Ghacks Technology News; you need a StackCommerce account to participate in giveaways or make purchases. Check out the privacy policy and Terms of Service here.

Ghacks Technology News benefits from sales made on the Ghacks Deals website through a revenue share agreement. All revenue goes towards the running costs.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/ghacks-deals-vipre-advanced-security-3-yr-subscription-74-off/feed/0DISM-GUI: small helper app to run admin commands with a clickhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/dism-gui-small-helper-app-to-run-admin-commands-with-a-click/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/dism-gui-small-helper-app-to-run-admin-commands-with-a-click/#commentsWed, 04 Sep 2019 05:03:49 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154399DISM-GUI is a small 24 Kilobyte program for Microsoft's Windows 10 operating system that administrators may use to run certain admin commands with a click. The commands focus on DISM -- Deployment […]

The program is offered as an archive on the Deskmodder website. Download it to the local system and extract the archive to get started; a 32-bit and 64-bit folder lead to the 32-bit and 64-bit executable file that you can run right away.

Note that you don't need to run it with elevated rights manually as this is taken care of during launch. The interface is simplistic but functional. It lists the available commands as buttons that you click on to execute them.

Dism-Gui

Check -- runs the CheckHealth command. It tests if the component store is damaged by checking the corruption flag.

Scan -- runs the ScanHealth command. Scans for component store errors but does not fix any.

Restore -- runs the RestoreHealth command. Scans for errors in the component store and repairs them if possible.

A click on Restore displays additional options in the program interface whereas Check and Scan execute automatically without further input.

You are asked to select the source for the restore. The options include "not set" which attempts a local restore, "install.wim" to use an extracted install.wim file from an ISO image, or "install.esd" to use the file instead. The latter two use the files from the ISO image to repair files if necessary.

Analyze -- This runs the AnalyzeComponentStore command. It checks the component storage to determine if storage space can be reduced. The command returns information about the current size of the component store and gives a recommendation whether cleanup should be run.

Cleanup -- This runs the StartComponentCleanup command to recover storage space. Tip: run the Analyze command again afterward to find out about the gains.

DISM-Gui features two non-DISM commands that you can run as well.

SFC Scan -- Runs the SFC /scannow command to check system files for corruption and repair them if possible.

CAB Install -- Prompts for a CAB installation file that you can then install on the system.

Closing Words

DISM-Gui is a simple program designed to save admins some time to run administrative commands quickly. I wish the program would display the actual commands in the interface, e.g. when you hover the mouse over a button, for verification.

Most administrators may not need this, probably, but those who run the commands a lot may appreciate the time saving aspect. Whether that is better than creating a set of batch files that you may run with a click as well is for everyone to decide individually.

Now You: Do you use DISM commands or other admin commands regularly? (via Deskmodder)

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/04/dism-gui-small-helper-app-to-run-admin-commands-with-a-click/feed/6Mozilla won't follow Google in limiting APIs in coming Extensions Manifest v3https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/03/mozilla-wont-follow-google-in-limiting-apis-in-coming-extensions-manifest-v3/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/03/mozilla-wont-follow-google-in-limiting-apis-in-coming-extensions-manifest-v3/#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2019 18:35:36 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154395Google revealed some time ago that it was working on a new Extensions Manifest file for the Chrome web browser. The company published an early draft of the Manifest v3 file and […]

]]>Google revealed some time ago that it was working on a new Extensions Manifest file for the Chrome web browser. The company published an early draft of the Manifest v3 file and it turned out that some extension developers were not particularly happy with some of the changes.

Developers spoke out against some of the planned changes as it could be the end for content blockers such as uBlock Origin and others. Google wanted to limit an API that content blockers and other extensions were using for the blocking and replace it with another API that had severe limitations.

One question that many users had was whether other browser developers would follow Google's implementation. Browsers based on Chromium share code with Google and if Google would implement the changes, would need work to make changes to the code. Most browser makers, Vivaldi, Brave or Opera, have stated openly that they would find ways to lift these changes in one way or another.

Mozilla, the organization behind Firefox, is not based on Chromium but the extension system that Firefox uses is designed to be compatible for the most part with Chrome to make it easier for developers to develop extensions for both browsers.

The organization published an official statement on of the Mozilla Blog today to clarify its stance on the upcoming Manifest v3 APIs.

Most important from a user perspective is that Mozilla won't remove the API that content blockers use today from Firefox. Mozilla uses remove in the context whereas Google plans to alter it so that it becomes read-only; while not entirely clear, I think that Mozilla's statement means that it won't touch the API for now.

We have no immediate plans to remove blocking webRequest and are working with add-on developers to gain a better understanding of how they use the APIs in question to help determine how to best support them.

Note that Mozilla uses the term "no immediate plans" which means that the organization won't close that door completely.

Mozilla plans to implement some of the other changes that Google plans to make. You can read about those on the Mozilla Blog.

Manifest v3 has not been published as a final version and it is too early to tell how this will play out in the long run. Will Google make the changes necessary for content blockers to run effectively on Chrome? If that is the case, it is quite possible that Mozilla would follow Google's implementation after all in this regard.

If Google plays hardball, the company relies on advertising revenue after all, it seems more likely that Mozilla won't follow Google's implementation to the letter or at all. Mozilla wants to work with extension developers; that is a good sign.

]]>https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/03/mozilla-wont-follow-google-in-limiting-apis-in-coming-extensions-manifest-v3/feed/31How to locate a noisy tab in Firefox and switch to it instantlyhttps://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/03/how-to-locate-a-noisy-tab-in-firefox-and-switch-to-it-instantly/
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/09/03/how-to-locate-a-noisy-tab-in-firefox-and-switch-to-it-instantly/#commentsTue, 03 Sep 2019 17:43:04 +0000https://www.ghacks.net/?p=154369This article isn't about annoying auto-playing videos. You know that Firefox displays a speaker icon on tabs which are playing audio and that you can mute those easily with a right-click on […]

But, what if you have a lot of tabs open and can't spot the icon in the current view? It happens that media tabs can become hidden in the background if you happen to open more than a dozen or so tabs.

You could try using an add-on like Auto Mute Plus to silence all the tabs, and then search for the one which played the audio. Or you could hit the mute key on your keyboard too or turn down the volume.

Is that really a solution though? There is still the problem of finding the tab. Unfortunately, there is no feature for this task in Firefox at the moment, not even one that you could enable from about:config. Add-ons do come to the rescue.

How to locate a noisy tab in Firefox and switch to it instantly

Tabhunter

This lists each tab which is playing audio/video. Select the one you want to switch to.

Click on the "Go" button.

It should take you to the tab. There is no need to search for the speaker icon or manually locate the noisy tab anymore but you may still need to activate mute or pause playback.

Tabhunter's GitHub hasn't been updated in over a year but the add-on was updated recently.

Switch to audible tab

This is a fairly recent add-on which seems to have been written for that one purpose Switch to audible tab lives up to its name. Once you install the add-on you will see its icon on the toolbar. You can click on it and it will instantly jump to the tab which is playing the audio. You can also use the shortcut key combo Alt + Shift + A to switch to the tab.

In case you have multiple media tabs, using the Switch to audible tab shortcut/button will cycle through all of them.

Closing Words

People use Firefox for streaming music, videos, or podcasts in the background all the time. While this is not an issue that demands immediate attention, it would be nice if it was addressed by Mozilla. Maybe they could add a button on the toolbar which only appears when a tab is playing audio in the background, a bit like the play button that Google tests in Chrome currently.

Here's what inspired me to write this.

About a week ago, I had set a reminder on a YouTube video (live stream) to write about the launch of a device on another publication. Since the event was scheduled to start in a few hours, I worked on other articles in the meantime. A couple of dozen tabs later, I forgot that the stream's tab was open (and that it would auto-play).

You can guess what happened: when the stream went live the tab started playing some music. For a second I didn't have a clue what was happening because the 20+ tabs which were visible on my monitor didn't have the "speaker icon" on them. The audio wasn't the issue, locating the tab was. I used TreeStyleTab to scroll the list of tabs to find the noisy tab and switch to it. This took half a minute though, and I wanted a better solution. That's when I discovered Tabhunter and Switch to audible tab.